Chino Hills residents to travel to San Francisco for Tehachapi verdict

CHINO HILLS - Next week the state Public Utilities Commission is expected to vote on undergrounding high-voltage power lines through a portion of Chino Hills.

Members of the grassroots group Hope for the Hills plan on traveling to San Francisco to be there in person if the verdict comes down on July 11.

City officials and a residents group - Hope for the Hills - have been advocating the lines to be built underground, while Edison officials have said undergrounding would be expensive and makes the system less reliable.

The Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project was approved in 2009 by the PUC, but it has been on hold since 2011 as the final outcome is debated by the commission.

Last month a proposed decision by Administrative Law Judge Jean Vieth denied the city's request to place the lines below ground.

However an alternative proposed decision by state PUC President Michael Peevey sided with Chino Hills to underground a portion of the project and orders Southern California Edison to construct an single circuit line underground.

Now that the decision is out, a 30-day public comment period will begin.

The earliest the ALJ's decision or Peevey's viewpoint are expected to be up for discussion or vote by the PUC is on July 11.

City Hall council chambers will be open to allow residents to watch the live video-streaming of the PUC's meeting.

Doors will open at 9:15 a.m. and the CPUC meeting will convene at 9:30 a.m. at 14000 City Center Drive.

The Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project is Item 28 on the agenda.

Anyone interested in going with Hope for the Hills to San Francisco with the group can visit their Facebook page

Read Reporter Canan Tasci's latest story on the issue and the proposed decision from an administrative law judge HERE